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Data Snapshot

UW Medicine Hospitals:

graph of COVID-19 inpatient data through July 14, 2020

King County: The county reported 155 new positive cases and 0 new death on July 13.

Washington: The state reported 41,757 cases and 1,399 deaths as of July 12. A total of 708,247 people have been tested and 5.9% of those tests have been positive.

United StatesThe CDC reports 3,355,457 cases and 135,235 deaths as of July 14.

Global: WHO reports 12,964,809 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 570,288 deaths as of July 14.

*Numbers update frequently, please follow links for most up-to-date numbers.

Research News

NIH: Point-of-Care Diagnostic Services as an Integral Part of Health Services during the Novel Coronavirus 2019 Era 

Featuring: Paul Drain, Global Health

“The integration of available POC diagnostics into our current healthcare service needs to be prioritized to aid the prevention and management of current pandemics and in preparation for future pandemics. It is clear that the successful implementation of point-of-care diagnostics requires a transdisciplinary approach.”

NIH: A Case for Targeting Th17 Cells and IL-17A in SARS-CoV-2 Infections 

Featuring: Marika Orlov, Hospitalist and Specialty Medicine; Pandora Wander, General Internal Medicine; Erick Morrell, Carmen Mikacenic and Mark Wurfel, Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine

“We hypothesize that the Th17/IL-17A axis may be ‘primed’ for an overexuberant Th17 response after SARS-CoV-2 infection, leading to both increased inflammation and impaired adaptive immune responses. Thus, delivery of a therapy targeting the Th17/IL-17A axis early in COVID-19 may be efficacious in dampening the disease course and improving outcomes such as severe respiratory failure.”

UW Medicine in the News

Time: Coronavirus Outbreaks Linked to Fraternity Houses are a Warning for College Campuses 

Featuring: Geoffrey Gottlieb, Allergy & Infectious Diseases

“Before the outbreak at the University of Washington, some fraternity houses over the summer had limited their residential capacity by up to 50%, with about 1,000 students living in 25 fraternity houses. But Gottlieb said those measures weren’t sufficient if students weren’t also wearing face masks, keeping their distance from each other and washing their hands regularly. All fraternity residents have now been asked to self-quarantine in their frat houses. ‘My sense is all students want to return to some sense of normalcy, so I urge all of us to follow public health guidelines so we can do just that,’ Gottlieb said in a statement.”

Refinery 29: Can Air Purifiers Save Us From COVID-19? 

Featuring: Paul Pottinger, Allergy & Infectious Diseases

“One solution to the aerosol quandary is to stay outdoors when you interact with folks outside of your bubble, says Paul Pottinger, MD, a professor specializing in infectious disease at the University of Washington School of Medicine. ‘We have enough information now to tell us that it’s better to interact with others outside where there’s more air circulation,’ Dr. Pottinger says.”

The Seattle Times: His cancer has returned. But this Seattle man won’t stop delivering meals to health care workers 

Featuring: UW Medical Center

“’I am pretty impressed that, whenever he can, he’s helping with the deliveries, he’s making the phone calls and all that, even during some of his hospitalizations,’ said Justin Speyer, a lead nurse practitioner at UW Medical Center, who went to high school with Dwyer at Seattle Prep.”

The Boston Globe: Dozens of NFL players will likely test positive for COVID-19 at camp. Catching them is imperative 

Featuring: Jonathan Drezner, Family Medicine

“Jonathan Drezner, a Seahawks team doctor who chaired the NFL-NFLPA task force on COVID-19 treatment and management, said players may need a significant ramp-up time before returning to football activities, especially since there weren’t any practices this spring. ‘The recommendation is not to exercise when you are actively affected with the virus, because it can potentially increase the chance that it goes to your heart or lungs,’ he said.”

Los Angeles Times: COVID-19 death tolls now rising in key states after weeks of decline nationwide 

Featuring: Christopher Murray, IHME

“Nationally, a new forecast from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington predicted that the U.S. would record more than 200,000 deaths related to the coronavirus by November, up from about 130,000 now. ‘We can now see the projected trajectory of the epidemic into the fall, and many states are expected to experience significant increases in cases and deaths,’ said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the institute, whose disease models are closely followed worldwide.”

Tweet of the Week

 

graphic of people wearing masks